GCash, the country’s no.1 mobile wallet app, reminded users to exercise more caution and vigilance as various online scams continue to proliferate.
Customers must watch out for “Account Takeover” wherein log-in details are compromised due to phishing scams. Scammers often use fake social media accounts and pretend to be a GCash agent offering to solve their tickets or concerns with their GCash wallets, but the ultimate goal is to steal money from the victims.
Swindling is another modus which happens when a scammer tricks a user into buying a service or product and paying for it using GCash but will not deliver the item that has been paid for.
Another frequent cause of unauthorized charges is when GCash users allow other people, sometimes family members, access to their accounts. Oftentimes, a friend or family member would use their account to purchase or subscribe to a service without the owner’s knowledge.
In light of these scams, GCash has several reminders to help ensure users can protect their accounts from fraudsters:
- To avoid account takeovers, users should never give out any information about their accounts like MPINs and One-time Pins (OTP) and only transact with official channels like the GCash Help Center (help.gcash.com) or the GCash hotline: 2882. It’s also important for users to make sure they verify transactions within the GCash app to avoid giving important information to fake websites.
- To avoid being swindled online, be sure to research and read reseller reviews on the product you’re buying and who you’re buying it from.
- To avoid unauthorized charges and risks, GCash is reminding users to never share account details with other people and to always check before they tap ads or when downloading from applications they do not trust.
- GCash also urges its users to stop the practice of lending or selling their accounts to receive potentially illicit remittances from others. This is commonly called "money mule" scams. Account owners that are caught doing this illegal act can be prosecuted under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2021.
Aside from warning its users against various scams, the leading e-wallet is also working in tandem with the National Bureau Investigation (NBI), the Philippine National Police – Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), and PNP – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) to uncover online scams and apprehend perpetrators. So far, there have been a total of 17 arrested and imprisoned fraudsters.
Likewise, GCash maintains topnotch security systems and has tightened its user verification and onboarding process. From January 2021 to March 2022, the mobile wallet app has blacklisted 14,752 wallets due to “Account Takeover”, 4,609 wallets for swindling, and 923,164 for identity fraud.
“At GCash, we remain relentless in our pursuit against online scamming. We will continue to work closely with various authorities to fight scammers and protect our legitimate users. We are constantly upgrading our security systems, as well as educating our customers so that they can use the GCash app without worries,” said Martha Sazon, GCash President and CEO.
With its #GCheckMuna campaign, GCash also empowers users to be more vigilant in the face of scams. The company also just recently introduced the beta version of Gigi the chatbot to immediately help customers with their various scamming concerns/incidents. GCash users may also visit the Help Center at help.gcash.com to report a phishing scam anytime. Fake pages will then be taken down within 24 hours.
In addition, users can activate biometrics login such as face recognition and digital fingerprint to ensure that only they can access their GCash account. To do this, they just need to enable biometrics on the settings of their device and proceed to their GCash profile. After tapping “Biometrics Log-in,” a six-digit authentication code will be sent to the device. After submitting the code, the face recognition and fingerprint can now be used to log in on the GCash app.
Committed to keeping its platform secure, GCash also implements Customer Protect Program, which is designed to help detect and prevent fraudulent activities. It also ensures users will not be held liable for unauthorized transactions made on their accounts.
To know more, visit www.gcash.com. If you need assistance or would like to report a scam, visit help.gcash.com.